The Advantages of Persistence
by Bizarre Dreamer
Summary: H/D Draco has decided that after two years of a truce, a war, and an entirely too oblivious Gryffindor, he's going to go for what he really wants in his life; Harry Potter. Harry really just wanted a normal year at Hogwarts, but Malfoy asking to be his friend is likely to complicate that a bit. A/U Where Dumbledore, Fred, & Snape live, along with some others.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hi guys! This is a side story I'm working on, mostly to amuse myself and because the idea just wouldn't leave my head. As usually, it will be posted on my AO3 account too. I'd love to hear any comments you might have on it so far! I don't really know how long it's going to be yet, but probably between 10k and 25k words. Enjoy!

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><p>When Malfoy had approached Harry at the beginning of their Eighth Year wanting to turn the truce the two had shared while working together for the Order during previous years into an actual friendship, Harry was more than a little concerned about Malfoy's mental health. They'd spent a lot of time together since their sixth year when Malfoy had come, along with Professor Snape, to Harry and Dumbledore for help. Harry knew that ultimately the work the two of them had done together had been more than a little instrumental in the destruction of Voldemort the year previous. He understood the truce, and could even admit that Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins weren't half bad when you weren't the target of their teasing. Malfoy wanting to be friends was something that Harry was having more than a little trouble understanding.<p>

That brought Harry to where he was currently, sitting in a rather empty compartment on the train (Ron and Hermione were back to Prefect duties) with Malfoy sitting across from him, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and watching Harry expectantly. He'd finished his rather long winded rant about how the two of them should take the truce further and actually be friends at least four minutes ago, and he now appeared to simply be watching Harry and waiting for his reaction.

Harry wasn't exactly sure what to say, since he didn't really know what to make of the situation. Malfoy could be sincere…or he might be setting up one hell of an elaborate joke. Though, in all honesty, he'd learned that Malfoy tended to be open and sincere first, and only if that failed was he likely to attempt to destroy you. It was something about the other boy that had taken Harry more than a year of constant exposure to a friendly Malfoy to figure out, and he likely wouldn't have at all if Parkinson hadn't let slip that Harry's rejection of the other boy's friendship in their first year had gotten to Malfoy more than he had wanted to admit.

He shook his head, looking the blond boy over curiously before voicing the only thought he could likely say without severely offending him. "But why?"

The head of blond hair tilted to the side slowly, and the storm grey eyes searched Harry's face curiously. Harry couldn't honestly tell if the boy found what he was looking for or not, because a second later he had turned to the window and was watching the vast green and blue of the world outside pass them by.

He finally spoke, startling Harry minutely, "The better question, Potter dear, is 'why not'. We have spent a great deal of our time together the last two years. We know each other the same way friends would, by now. Does it not make sense to have one more friend, someone who is uninterested in your fame and sees you not as the 'Boy-Who-Lived', but rather just as you actually are?"

"Careful Malfoy, that was dangerously close to making sense. I meant more on the lines of why would you want to? What are you expecting out of a friendship with me?" Harry asked uncertainly. It didn't come up often, mostly because Harry had other friends looking out for him, but occasionally someone tried to befriend him because of who he was and what they thought he could do for them.

His former nemesis rolled his eyes, "Honestly Potter, it wounds me so to think that you would believe such a thing of me!" Harry didn't, not really, but he wasn't about to tell the blond git that. "I wish to gain nothing but the pleasure of your company, you great oaf. It would seem that I may have actually grown accustomed to your presence in my life and find that you provide a sort of entertainment only a Gryffindor with your particular sense of humor can provide."

"And that," Harry said, "sounded vaguely close to a compliment. Are you feeling alright, Malfoy? You haven't fallen and hit your head recently, have you?"

Malfoy snorted, "You're impossible Potter. Is it really so difficult to believe that I would want to be your friend? And I'm not completely incapable of giving a compliment, you know."

He'd always sort of doubted that last bit, but in the last few months of the war had been surprised to find that Malfoy actually could give out compliments. It was just that his standards tended to be so high that he wasn't often surprised enough, or pleased enough, by something someone had done to give out compliments. Harry strongly suspected he'd learned that from Professor Snape. As for being his friend…well, maybe that was left over from eight years ago when Malfoy had asked for a very similar thing. The difference was that neither of them were children anymore. They were men who had lived through a way, had seen death, and had fought for their lives as well as the lives of others. If they could do all of that without killing each other…

With a shrug and a sigh, Harry told him, "Well, alright, I guess. I suspect you'd just badger me until I gave into your weird idea anyways."

There was a rather disturbing gleam in Malfoy's eyes now that Harry thought would make the Headmaster rather proud. "You do know me well after all, Harry." It took him a moment to place the tone of voice that Malfoy was using, but he finally pegged it as pleased with a hint of smugness shoved in as well. Harry strongly suspected that he was going to regret going along with Malfoy on this, or at the very least end up in more than one thoroughly horrid situation. Being friends with Malfoy was probably going to be his grand and terrifying adventure during his last year at Hogwarts. And here he'd actually been hoping for a quiet and calm last year at the school.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - So this is actually going to turn out to be a pretty long story as I'm already 13k words into it. I only looked over this one once, and I don't currently have a beta, so sorry for any mistakes! I'm also working on this for NaNoWriMo, so updates won't be super-fast, but they shouldn't drag out too much either. Enjoy!

The first week back at Hogwarts was as chaotic as Harry had thought it would be, and despite sharing the Eighth Year boys' dorm with Malfoy, Harry had so little contact with him those first few days that he had almost forgotten the encounter. As it was, the only reason that he wasn't able to put it out of his mind entirely was because of the odd glances the blond kept sending him. They weren't overt, and the one time he had mentioned it to Ron and Hermione they had shrugged it off. They'd said that a lot of people were looking at him, and why should Malfoy be any different? As long as the prat wasn't causing them any problems, his two best friends seemed inclined to ignore the blond most of the time.

Of course, just because Harry was back to being his oblivious self, Draco Malfoy was certainly doing the opposite. Draco spent quite a lot of time watching Harry, not that he would actually admit it. Though, if he was being honest at least with himself, he'd spent most of his spare time during the war watching the dark haired boy quite closely. And then there had been the several years before in school where he had watched him as well. Regardless of what he might have told everyone, including Potter himself, he did find the other boy quite fascinating, Gryffindor attributes and all.

Draco had spent the summer months debating on what to do about his apparent fondness for the Gryffindor, and had finally realized that it was more than a simple affection. Quite simply, his heart had decided (without his permission, clearly) that it wanted Potter, and no one else was going to suffice. The first step in attracting the other boy's attention had gone better than he had expected at first. Gaining Potter's friendship, at least on the surface, had been as simple as confounding him (no spell work needed there) and being both as persuasive and persistent as he usually was when going after something he wanted. The other boy had caved and accepted his friendship rather easily, really, and Draco was happily counting it as a victory, and step one complete in winning Harry Potter's heart.

There were several other steps in his plan, but he doubted that all of them would go quite as smoothly as the first. Despite years of watching him, Potter didn't always react the way Draco or anyone else expected him to. That was one of the things that he found so interesting about him; even those that knew him well were often surprised by the way he reacted to certain situations. One of the most recent examples was when the youngest Weasley decided that she was no longer interested in dating the most eligible wizard of their time. Or, perhaps second most eligible if you were including Draco himself in that category. Everyone had expected him to be devastated or put up a fight, but he'd only smiled, mentioned something about how she was more like a sister, and went on his merry way. That had been during the last Order celebration both Potter and Draco had attended during the summer. After that, everyone had expected Potter to find someone else to date quickly, but he hadn't shown any interest in dating anyone that Draco had heard of. That worked out well for Draco; at least for the moment, at any rate.

Draco was currently sitting in the Eighth Year common room pretending to work on his Potions essay. He was actually making a mental list of ways to put his second step of his plan into motion that wouldn't be too obvious and garner unwanted attention to what he was doing. Step two involved spending time with Potter in a setting that wasn't a classroom or the Great Hall at dinner. Eighth Years had been set apart from the rest of school because of the unusual circumstances, and so they sat apart from their houses at a small table that was added to the Great Hall just for them. It was a welcome change, as far as Draco was concerned. Most of the rest of the school simply weren't sure how to react to most of them anymore, so sitting with the younger students was more often than not uncomfortable.

Draco wasn't getting as far as he would have liked trying to come up with a way that wouldn't seem suspicious to spend time with Potter. He was just about to give up on plotting for the time being and actually work on his Potions when Potter himself walked into the common room, Granger and Weasley stumbling after him rather gracelessly, most likely because the two of them were half twined around each other. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately, Draco had noted. The trio had quickly made their way to a table near the fire, and Granger appeared to be attempting to get the two boys to work on their school work rather than play chess, which they seemed more inclined to do.

Draco turned slightly so he could still see them out of the corner of his eye, and tuned out the slight noise of the other people in the common room to listen to them. It wasn't as though Granger was trying to be quiet when she let out an exasperated huff and said, "Honestly you two, it's no wonder you get such abysmal marks when neither of you are willing to study!"

Potter had the nerve to actually look offended, "Hermione, my marks have been just fine, thanks! Just because I don't want to spend my entire year huddled over one book or another doesn't mean that I'll get bad marks."

Draco watched in amusement as Granger rolled her eyes at her friend and Weasley started edging away from them both. "Harry, I know you don't want to spend your entire year studying, but N.E.W.T.s are important. And what about Potions? It's your worst subject, and since Professor Snape has gone back to teaching Potions and left DADA to Professor Kinley you don't have a hope of passing unless you really start working on it."

Weasley finally decided to weigh in, "You should have just dropped the class like I did. George said he'll work with me on any sort of things I'll need to know working in the shop, and I get the bonus of not having to deal with the Dungeon Bat of Doom."

"Not all of us are going to work in a business our family owns, Ron. And just because George is your brother doesn't mean you shouldn't work hard to make sure that you can actually be an asset to the shop, you know!" Granger told him, brandishing a book at him and looking as if she wanted to smack him with it.

Potter snorted rather inelegantly, "I think you should be more worried about Ron's grades than mine. I'll manage Potions, one way or another. I always manage to, somehow."

He did have a point there, Draco thought. He didn't know how the dark haired boy studied as little as it seemed he did and still passed his classes. He'd always assumed that Granger had a good deal to do with the other two Gryffindorks passing their exams, but after working closely with all of them, he knew better now. The two boys might not study or put nearly as much into getting good marks as he and Granger did, but they were every bit as intelligent, though perhaps not in the same ways. Weasley, he'd quickly discovered, was a strategic genius and nearly as good at defense as Potter was. Potter, on the other hand, was capable of quick learning (when it was something he wanted to learn) and amazing at setting up wards that were nearly impenetrable. Without those wards, Draco was fairly certain he would have been dead at least three times over. That was just scratching the surface of the Golden Trio, though the only interest he had in two thirds of the trio was appeasing Potter.

Draco realized with a start that he had missed a rather large part of their conversation, but apparently all he had missed was Granger continuing to pester Potter about his Potions skill, or lack thereof. Potter had always been pants at Potions, but Granger was right. If he didn't start showing major improvement in that particular area, there was no way he was going to pass Potions with Professor Snape in charge again. It occurred to Draco that this might be exactly what he needed to make step two of his plan a success. Of course, it all hinged on Potter actually caring enough about his Potions grade to accept Draco's help, but it was still a better plan than he'd had twenty minutes before. He also realized that talking to Potter about it in front of everyone in the common room would be extremely ineffective, so he'd have to wait until he could corner the green-eyed boy alone. That, Draco decided, was likely going to be the more difficult part of his plan.

It would be another difficult task, teaching Potter Potions skills, but it really was the perfect opportunity for Draco to get closer to the boy. Perhaps if he could get him to sit next to Draco during Potions, that might help as well. And since he was Professor Snape's favorite student…maybe he should approach him about assigning partners this year. It was a long shot, he knew, but it was better than nothing. He decided that he would take the time out of his rather busy schedule to go and see his favorite Professor first thing the next morning.

Just as he had planned, Draco was up earlier than he normally would have been. He got ready for the day as quickly and quietly as he could to avoid disturbing any of his roommates. He seemed to have succeeded too, considering that he didn't hear any stirring behind any of the other boys' curtains, excluding Weasley's atrocious snoring.

Apparently his roommates could sleep through just about anything, so he really needn't have worried. Draco was grateful for that, really, since he stubbed his toe no less than three times trying to be stealthy. He honestly hoped Potter appreciated just how much effort he put into the entire plan by the time things were all said and done. That, of course, hinged on Potter actually knowing about any of this at any point of time, and Draco wasn't sure whether or not that was a likely outcome even if they did end up together as Draco so fervently hoped for.

By the time he made it to Professor Snape's office (he knew Snape would be there as the Potions Professor was always awake and working in his office at least an hour before breakfast) he was more than a little perturbed by the number of stairs between the Eighth Year dorms and the dungeons. Next time he was planning to visit the Professor he would try and plan for it later in the day when he was more awake and had actually eaten something, he decided as his stomach gave a growl of disapproval from the lack of breakfast.

He knocked tentatively on the door to the office and waited for the gruff "Come in" to be announced before slowly opening the door and poking his head in just the slightest bit to gauge the Professor's current mood before he allowed his body to follow him into the room. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy? To what do I owe the pleasure of your company at such an early hour?"

Draco sidled into the room, shutting the door behind him quietly and then moving to flop rather inelegantly into the chair across from the desk. His Professor gave him a rather perturbed look, raising an eyebrow in question as he watched his student. "I came to ask a favor, actually."

"Oh? And why, pray tell, would I want to grant you a favor?" Professor Snape asked rather churlishly.

"Because this particular favor would involve less ruined potions in your class? And we all know how you hate the waste of ingredients that comes from such horrid potions," Draco said coaxingly, grinning slightly at Professor Snape who was now watching him with more rapt attention.

"And how do you plan to deliver such a thing? Longbottom has given up my class, after all. The only other problem student I have is Potter, and you couldn't possibly be suggesting tutoring him," he said, watching the boy in front of him with calculating eyes.

The Slytherin allowed a slightly devious smile to spread slowly across his face before he answered, "But that's exactly what I mean. We both know that without some serious help the boy won't pass Potions, and regardless of the Weasel's views on the subject, it is rather important to at least know the basics. Since I have recently taken on the role of Potter's newest friend, and the only one of them equipped to be any help to him in the subject, it falls to me to make sure he can pass the class."

Snape gave a small shake of his head, giving his favorite student a look of exasperation. "And does Potter know that you intend to be the one to help him?"

"He will soon enough. I thought I would ease him into it," Draco said, watching the Potions Master cautiously. He knew that Professor Snape had never truly liked Potter, and as long as he didn't interfere with Draco getting what he wanted, then he really didn't care about that. He was prepared to make a nuisance of himself to get his way in this matter, though.

"And what, precisely, makes you think I would help you with this endeavor? Surely you know by now that I would absolutely love Potter to fail out of my class," the older man told him with his eyes narrowed in something like contempt.

Draco snorted, "Yes, yes, we're all quite aware that you hate having a Potter in your class. After the war, you'd think you could give up on the blind hate there. Regardless, I have plans concerning Potter, plans that need his trust and belief in our budding friendship to work out properly. The favor I need is for you to assign Potions partners for the year."

"You'll want to be paired with Potter, I presume?"

A raised eyebrow was aimed at the Professor, "Of course. There's the incentive of pairing people up in the worst possible partnerships to upset the largest amount of students possible there as well. Imagine all of the terror you can invoke in your students with it!"

Apparently taking a moment to turn the possibilities over in his mind, Snape waved his hand slightly in a dismissive manner, "Fine, but I would like to know exactly what you plan to do to Potter. I may still dislike the boy, but he has been through rather a lot, just as the rest of us have been. If you intend to do something harmful to him..."

Draco cut in, looking rather offended, "Honestly Professor, I have no intentions of doing any such thing. None of my plans for him involve hurting him in any way, shape, or form, if you must know. Potter is a much better friend than he is enemy, as many of us have learned, and I value him greatly." He was more than a little concerned about telling the Potions Master even that much, but Draco wanted him to do as he asked, and if that involved giving more information than he had originally planned to, he could deal with that, at least for the moment. There were things worse than being mocked by Severus Snape. There weren't many things worse than it, but those things still existed.

His teacher surprised him, though, when instead of a cutting remark all he got was a slight nod of a black haired head and a thoughtful expression aimed his way. "Very well, then. I shall, just this once, help you with your plans for Mr. Potter. I suggest you take as much advantage of it as you can. Now, run along to breakfast, I still have work to do before I can do the same."

Rolling his eyes, Draco got up and made his way to the door, murmuring a thank you to the man as he slipped out of the room. As happy as he was that his plans were unfolding rather seamlessly, he knew that he shouldn't allow himself to be lulled into a false sense of security. Other people might be doing things to make his plans fall into place, but Merlin knew if anyone had the ability to muck it up, it would be Potter himself.

Breakfast turned out to be a quiet affair at the Eighth Year table that morning. Most everyone was dragging their feet and unprepared for another day full of classes after a weekend full of studying. While everyone else seemed ready to fall asleep in their food, Draco ate without really paying much attention to what he was eating, his thoughts full of ways to help improve his new Potions partner's skills. He hoped fervently that Potter would see the good sense in working on Potions with him, even outside of the classroom. Extra Potions projects would be a great way for them to have one on one time without his friends paying attention to their every move. It would be a good way for him to get to know Potter on a more personal level as well, outside the goings on of a way, at any rate. He probably knew Harry Potter at least as well as most of the boy's friends did, with as much time as the two of them had been forced to spend together. Still, getting to know what someone was like outside of a highly stressful situation was an entirely different thing all together.

He knew that there was also the possibility that after all of this, and getting to know him better, he might find that he didn't care nearly as much for him as his heart told him, or that he cared even more for Potter than he had previously thought. There was simply no way to know what was going to happen until something actually did happen. His first chance at seeing how things might play out would be Potions, which they had first thing that morning. Realizing that it was nearly time for him to head down to the dungeons for that particular class, he finished the last bites of food that were on his plate and gathered his things to make his way to the classroom, hoping earnestly that things wouldn't turn out to be a complete disaster.

Harry noticed during breakfast that something was different from usual, but at first he couldn't pin down what it might be. It took him several minutes to realize that it was actually that Malfoy wasn't joining in with the usual banter of the group of friends he always sat with at meals. Parkinson, Zabini, Bulstrode, and Goyle had all come back, and usually they talked with a couple of the Hufflepuffs during breakfast, but the entire group was more subdued than usual.

Malfoy himself seemed to be more self-absorbed than normal that morning, staring at what appeared to be a whole lot of nothing, as far as Harry could see, but smiling to himself none the less. Honestly, he was a bit worried what that expression on Malfoy's face might mean for some poor unsuspecting student during the day, but it was rare for Malfoy to turn his plotting on Harry these days, so he supposed that he shouldn't worry too much, really. It was much more likely that the target of that suspicious look would be a professor that he didn't much care for or a younger student that had annoyed the blond one too many times recently. Both possibilities were equally likely, as far as Harry knew.

He was still so absorbed over who Malfoy's next target might have been that he didn't pay much attention to the journey to Potions and merely plopped down into the seat next to Hermione when they reached the classroom. He missed the smirk Malfoy directed his way, and consequently also missed the odd look Hermione gave Malfoy as well. He didn't miss the sneer pasted across his least favorite teacher's face, though.

Snape stood at the front of the classroom as he always did, and glared at the students until all noise ceased in the room. Harry had secretly been kind of jealous of that ability that seemed to come so naturally the last couple of years. He could have really used something like that when he was trying to get something across to a bunch of adults who didn't want to listen during the war. Regardless, it was a pretty neat ability to have, even if it was sort of terrifying half the time.

"Today, before we begin with our lesson, I have decided to put all of you into pairs for the rest of the year. I believe that some of you would benefit greatly from having a partner to work with for the year. I will expect you to study and do your assignments with the partner I assign you for the rest of the year. You will not be permitted to switch partners. Whichever person I assign as your partner will be your partner for the rest of the year with no exceptions excluding death and expulsion," Professor Snape stared harshly around the classroom to dispel the small noises of protest that were rising up from his students.

After a moment everyone quieted and he began speaking again, "When I call out your names, please move yourselves to sit with your partner at once. Miss Granger and Miss Bulstrode, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, Mr. Goyle and Mr. Thomas..."

Harry had pretty much stopped paying attention to the names being called out when he realized that he'd been paired with Malfoy of all people, and instead was having a minor panic attack. Just because Malfoy had decided that he wanted to try out being friends didn't mean that the two of them would be well suited as Potions partners. He was relatively sure that Snape was actually only doing this to try and sabotage any chance of Harry passing this class at all. But then, he could have put him with Goyle or one of the other less adept students instead of putting his best student with Harry, which is exactly what he had done.

While Harry was trying to decide if there was a grand conspiracy at work, Hermione had left to sit with her new partner after patting Harry gently on the arm, and Malfoy had taken her place without Harry noticing for several moments. When he did notice it was only because Malfoy dropped his book rather loudly onto the desk where Harry had let his head drop without his knowledge.

"Get it together Potter; there's actually a chance you'll not fail Potions this year now," Malfoy said in what might actually have been a teasing tone of voice.

It just made Harry groan and wonder exactly who he'd pissed off recently to get stuck with Malfoy for the rest of the year in his least favorite class. On the up side, he was right and Harry might actually have a shot at making it through this year with a decent grade. He really hoped that the other boy was sincere about that friendship he'd wanted so badly, because if he wasn't and it really was an elaborate scheme than Harry was seriously screwed. Beyond screwed, probably, but he just had to start praying to every deity he could think of that Malfoy would be a help and not a hindrance to him in this class.

A sharp jab to his ribs brought Harry back to the present rather quickly, and he jerked his head up to glare halfheartedly at Malfoy who grinned at him in a way that said he was getting exactly what he wanted and wasn't that just weird. "Come on Potter," his former nemesis said in a rather persuasive voice, "Go fetch the ingredients, won't you? I'll start getting things set up. Maybe you'll actually learn something this year."

"Doubt it," Harry grumbled under his breath and made his way to the supply cupboard. Harry had the thought that perhaps since Harry was working with his favorite student this year he wouldn't take nearly as many points away from Gryffindor, only to remember that the Eighth Years couldn't gain or lose any points from their former houses. They were sort of the odd group out in every area this year. They couldn't play Quidditch for the House teams either, but they could help them train. Just another point on the list of things that were really different this year.

He made quick work of gathering the ingredients they would need, and even double checked them against the list that Malfoy had thrust into his hand before he'd left their work space, before he took them back to their station. He took a couple of minutes to rearrange them into the order in which they would be used in the potion. It wasn't until that was done that he noticed that Malfoy was watching him rather closely.

Harry quirked a brow at him, "What? Did I get something wrong already?"

The other boy shook his head, "Not at all, I was actually sort of surprised that you brought back exactly what was on the list, right down to the amount."

"I actually can read and count, Malfoy," Harry said, half snarling the words and glaring quite fiercely at his partner. It was going to be an exceptionally long year if they couldn't get past this sort of stupidity.

Blond hair swept back and forth as the head it was attached too shook, "Not what I meant at all Potter. It's just that...I didn't think you usually paid quite that much attention in class, even when the instructions were written. I certainly didn't expect you to be so exact with it." Malfoy paused for a moment, staring at Harry from underneath his pale fringe. When he spoke again, the words were softer, his voice pitched lower so that only Harry could discern the words he spoke, "Sometimes, I have trouble remembering reconciling the careful exact person you were during battles and strategy meetings with the student you were years ago. Which is ridiculous, but there you have it. I really wasn't trying to be rude or offensive, honestly, even if it came out that way. I hope you'll forgive me."

Green eyes stared into grey for several moments before Harry nodded. He decided that he should choose his next words as carefully as Malfoy had, though he doubted he would ever be half as elegant with words as the other boy was. "I guess I can forgive you. I shouldn't have been so ready to take offense to it either, really. And I know what you mean. Sometimes it's difficult to remember that you really aren't still the prat you were before the war. I guess maybe we both just need to work harder at remembering that we really are different people now."

After that the two of them were able to work together peacefully for the rest of the class, successfully making their potion without any mishaps to speak of. When they finished a good fifteen minutes before the rest of the class, Malfoy actually started to go over the theory with Harry, and for the first time in at least three years, Harry could actually understand what he was being taught in Potions. If Malfoy could keep going this way, Harry thought he really would be able to pass the class with pretty good marks. It was more than he had originally hoped for that year.

After dinner Draco sat in the common room talking to Pansy who had noticed that something was going on with her friend, even if he was attempting to be incredibly secretive about it. In the end, Draco ended up telling her almost everything (some things were simply best kept to himself) about his feelings for Potter and his plans to make the boy his own.

Pansy didn't appear at all surprised by the development, if the resigned look on her face was anything to go by. "I can't say I'm surprised, Draco dear. Honestly, the two of you have been obsessed with each other in one way or another since First Year. It makes sense that it would evolve. Especially after the way the two of you worked together for the last couple of years. You made a great team then, and I'm sure you'll be great together eventually. That is, of course, if Potter ever manages to find a clue. Honestly, the boy is so far beyond oblivious that you could probably put up a banner confessing your infatuation for him on his bed and he wouldn't notice it."

"I had noticed. That's why there are so many steps to the plan. I really hope it doesn't come to a banner. That's just ostentatious and a bit ridiculous. At any rate, I hope I can count on you to be discreet about this Pansy," Draco said, adding a slightly threatening tone to his voice so that she knew he was serious.

His friend glared at him, rather ineffectually, he thought, but she was trying, "Draco, I've kept plenty of your secrets before, haven't I? Why on earth would I start telling people your secrets now? Besides, even if I was tempted, the thoughts of whatever horrible revenge you might cook up to get back at me would stop me very quickly."

He shrugged offhandedly, she was right that he would find some absolutely horrid way to get her back. He knew plenty of her secrets that he could tell, or he could do something else that would be even more embarrassing and probably quite damaging if he really wanted to. Just as he knew Potter was a better friend than enemy, he knew that he fit that description rather well too.

"I didn't really think that you would even be tempted, but I had to mention it anyways. Now that you know about all of this, I don't suppose you can think of anything that might make it easier, or might help, to win over Potter?" he asked uncertainly. Pansy might say that she was fine with his plans for the other boy, but she was very good at hiding emotions and thoughts that she didn't want to share with others. There was a small chance that she was just humoring him with every intention of derailing his plans if the opportunity presented itself to her.

She hummed thoughtfully for a moment, "Well, I do think the move you pulled in Potions was quite genius. It's really good that you've got skill in a class that he's so terrible at, and it's a fantastic starting point...but just that isn't going to be enough. If you want him to start spending time with you alone, and actually learn something about him, just going over Potions isn't going to do it. He's a secretive sort of bloke, isn't he? He has friends, but he keeps so much of himself hidden that it's easy to think that someone really knows him, but then he reacts to a phrase or a motion in a way that is so different than the person thinks he should, that you have to question how well anyone truly knows him."

He nodded, "I had thought of that. I know it's going to take a lot of work, but that isn't going to stop me."

Pansy smiled gently at him, "I didn't think that it would. I was just reinforcing it for you. You do realize that you're going to have to make amends with the Know-it-all and the Weasel, right? You aren't going to get very far with him if you don't at least attempt peace there."

Draco let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes Pansy, I have faced that inevitability. I'll get around to it." He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, murmuring, "I think that's actually part of step three."

"Just how many steps are you planning to have for this extravagant little plan?" she asked him curiously.

"At least five, but probably closer to ten. As you so kindly pointed out, it isn't going to be easy. More steps will be needed if he decides to be horridly stubborn, which is entirely too likely," he informed her, watching the entry to the common room so closely that he entirely missed the eye roll she sent his way.

Shaking her head, she said, "You're hopelessly gone on the boy already. Just promise me you'll be careful, won't you? I don't think the Golden Boy would hurt you intentionally, but still..."

The slight worry in her voice actually made Draco turn to stare at her for a moment before he answered her. "I promise I'll be careful. And if he does somehow manage that, which is highly unlikely, I may even give you permission to hex him."

The two Slytherins sat in the common room idly gossiping about the other Eighth Years and Seventh Years that had come back to the school that year. It reminded Draco of the way things had been in the Slytherin common room most evenings, and it was a comforting thought. They watched the steady flow of students come in from a late dinner or studying in the library. Of course, once he spotted Potter coming in, he stopped speculating on the rumors and instead listened to Pansy drone on as he watched the boy he was so terribly interested in sit with his other friends near the fire.

He hadn't realized that he had stopped paying attention to Pansy entirely until he noticed her waving her hand rather close to his face. He reached out with his own hand and swatted at her, "Really Pansy?"

She grinned predatorily at him, "Well you were so absorbed in Potter Watching that I was afraid that you were going to burn holes into the poor boy's head. Honestly Draco, if you keep being this obvious someone besides me is going to notice. There are a lot of people that would love a chance with him, and if any of them realize you're trying to make a very slow move on the boy, do you really think they're going to sit back and let you do it?"

"Ugh, fine, you win. I'll try to stop being so obvious. Actually, it's getting pretty late, considering I was up almost an hour earlier than normal. I think I'm just going to head up to bed for the night," he told her, gathering the small amount of things he'd had with him and standing up slowly.

"Alright, good night then. You do look rather tired, try and get some rest. I hardly think Potter is going to look at you and want to date you if you look so horrid," Pansy taunted him, smirking at him devilishly.

"Ha ha, very funny. You're absolutely horrible to me, I don't know why I bother to put up with you. Do try and stay out of trouble, won't you?" He turned on his heel and made his way to the boys' dorm room, not bothering to wait for a response from the girl.

Harry watched Malfoy get up and leave the common room about an hour earlier than usual. He steadfastly ignored the fact that he actually seemed to know what time the prat usually went to bed. He'd stopped paying attention to what his friends had been talking about several minutes before, instead watching the confusing blond for several minutes and thinking about that morning's Potions class. He'd forgotten how well the two of them could work together when they weren't trying too hard.

He had to agree with Malfoy and Hermione that with the other boy's help he might muster up a decent potions score. Though if he was being honest, just the limited help during the class itself wasn't likely to teach him everything he would need to pass his N.E.W.T.s. Maybe he could convince Malfoy to actually work with him outside of class on it. Of course that would mean approaching him and hoping that he wouldn't decide that Harry asking for his help was hilarious.

The other likelihood was that Malfoy would help him and be smug about being better than him at something. It was still odd for him to be thinking of Malfoy in a way that was almost friendly, instead of the tentative truce he'd been used to for more than two years. So much of the world had changed with the war, and the relationships between the people who had survived it were changing even more, day by day. It was both disconcerting and wonderful to witness, and even harder to be part of. Harry just hoped that the changes in his and Malfoy's relationship would be for the good of everyone, since they appeared to be happening whether Harry wanted them to or not.


End file.
